Daily Archives: November 15, 2021

Up for sale from my collection is this superb 1939-40 RAF Irvin Flying jacket in a size 6. It was issued to Pilot Officer John Christopher Willans Goldthorpe in the Summer of 1940. He was born in 1919 and attended Marlborough College, joining the O. C and in 1939 the R. As a 2nd Lt. On 16th July 1940 he was a pilot officer in the RAF in No. 225 Squadron, promoted to Flight lieutenant on 18th May 1941 and acting Wing Commander in 1944 when he was awarded a DFC. From the summer of 1940 he flew Lysanders. Equipped with Lysanders, No. The squadron was allocated to the North African invasion force providing tactical reconnaissance support for the 1st Army throughout the Tunisian campaign, No. 225 re-equipped with Spitfires and moved to Sicily in August 1943. In 1943 he joined 40 SAAF Squadron in the Middle East flying Spitfires on photo and tactical reconnaisance. He also flew with 318 Polish Squadron and 225 Squadron. He was awarded the DFC, was Mentioned in Despatches twice and received the Polish Virtuti Militari. His two panel Irvin is in overall very good condition. The chestnut coloured skin is supple and complete with no flaking or damage or repairs. Stitching is original and secure. The very rare Dot Deco zips work smoothly with no missing teeth. Their leather zip pulls are all original. They all have the sought-after herringbone zip tracks. The jacket has its original elastic collar strap for keeping the collar in a prone position. The jacket retains its hanging chain made by Wilkinson Sword. The close-pile fleece is not worn at the cuffs, collar, windflap or hem. The right back panel has suffered from moths and the fleece has been extensively repaired. There is no sign of any infestation now. Apart from a few small areas of repaired damage the fleece is in tact and is quite wearable. Measurements with the Irvin zipped up and laid flat on the floor. Armpit to armpit: 24.5. Front (along the windflap) 23. Across the shoulders: 22. Down the back (from base of collar to hem):25. Sleeves (from shoulder to end of cuff):25. This is a fantastic example of an early War Irvin, which belonged to a pilot who was flying during the Battle of Britain. The item “Original WW2 Irvin Flying Jacket 1939-40 in VGC large size named to DFC winner” is in sale since Sunday, November 14, 2021. This item is in the category “Collectables\Militaria\World War II (1939-1945)\RAF”. The seller is “edmund1987″ and is located in West Wickham. This item can be shipped to United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Australia, United States, Bahrain, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Bolivia, Barbados, Brunei darussalam, Cayman islands, Egypt, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, French guiana, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Macao, Monaco, Maldives, Martinique, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Saudi arabia, South africa, United arab emirates, Bahamas, Colombia, Jamaica, Panama, Philippines, Uruguay.

• Type: Uniform/ Clothing
• Issued/ Not-Issued: Issued
• Clothing Type: Jackets
• Era: 1914-1945
• Conflict: World War II (1939-1945)
• Country/ Organization: Great Britain
• Service: Air Force
• Theme: Militaria
• Featured Refinements: WW2 Flying Jacket
• Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom
• Modified Item: No